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Home | About | News | Contact For Immediate Release: November 16, 2012 Contact: Claude Chafin or John Noonan (202) 225-2539 Other Contacts: Susan Phalen, House Intelligence - susan.phalen@mail.house.gov Charlotte Sellmyer, House Judiciary - charlotte.sellmyer@mail.house.gov Steve Sutton, House Foreign Affairs - steve.sutton@mail.house.gov McKeon, Rogers, Smith and Ros-Lehtinen Statement on Release of Hezbollah Operative Ali Mussa Daqduq WASHINGTON - Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee; Rep. Mike Rogers, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee; Rep. Lamar Smith, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee; and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, delivered the following statement today on the release of Hezbollah operative Ali Mussa Daqduq: "We are deeply disappointed that Iraqi authorities have chosen to release Ali Mussa Daqduq, the Hezbollah agent who murdered five Americans. This move calls into question the Obama Administration’s decision to turn Daqduq over to Iraqi authorities in the first place, and is yet another national security threat that could have been avoided had the President been successful in his negotiations to secure a long-term Status of Forces Agreement with the Government of Iraq." "Due to this failure, a senior Hezbollah operative with American blood on his hands is now free in one of the most unstable regions of the world. As we conclude our military operations in Afghanistan, President Obama's Administration will be faced with similar choices. There are currently dangerous terrorists in U.S. custody in Afghanistan who pose a grave threat to our national security. We must not release these individuals in a rush to retreat from Afghanistan. We sincerely hope the President learns from history, so that the American people are not forced to repeat it." ####